especially for steph & marianne

here are pics of the furniture that Alison slaved over - without proper tools to boot!

Today I finally ventured out in the heat but only with the promise of a private tour of the capitol. We met up with Alison's workmates who are all very friendly and 2 of her bosses took it upon themselves to conduct the tour themselves. These fellows were as nice as nice can be. I felt so special being able to go down corridors and up staircases that were closed off to others. We got to ride the Disney -style tram car underground that transports the likes of Dick Cheney from one side of the building to the other. We stood in the rotunda where bodies lie in state, espied the old chambers for the Supreme Court, ogled statuary and visited the floor of the house of representatives where the state of the union is declared. Members of Congress were protesting Speaker Nancy Pelosi's decision to adjourn and not vote on energy legislation. The fellows took us out to lunch-I told you they were nice! Alison is fortunate to be working with the people I met today. Her walk to the office from the metro is practically across the street and the metro ride itself is a piece of cake - of course we werent riding it during rush hour.
I will be able to leave tomorrow with no reservations re: apt., job, future.

casualty!

I am saddened to report that our trip to Ikea resulted in the maiming of one of our dearest travel companions - Talulah Does the Hula From Hawaii (a.k.a. the dashboard hula girl).
She lost her left hand, an accident that ended a promising career as a ukelele player.
A moment of silence, please.

last nite for pie...

Sorry, no tourista today. I know this is not very exciting for you all, but Alison is very excited to have had her brand new bed delivered this morning and then a marathon shopping spree at IKEA. 4 1/2 hrs there. We got back to the apt. and started right in in assembling furniture. Alison managed to put together 2 chairs in the time it took me to put together a floor lamp. She is non-stop except for the fact that she didnt have a wrench. (dad send boxes soon) Moira and Julian came to her rescue. We had dinner with them in Old Towne and they brought along a selection of wrenches from which to choose. Anneliese and I colored and had some very nice conversation. She is so enjoyable, but her mom thinks she can be strong-willed at times - sounds like Tia to me. LOL!
Tomorrow is the test run on the Metro and a private tour of the Capitol provided by one of Alison's workmates. I WILL remember the camera!!
Sleeping in a bed tonite, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
P.S. Happy Birthday, Stephan xoxo

forgot the camera

This morning we went looking for the grocerie store. Filled Alison's pantry and fridge then had a very nice brunch at a French restaurant - shrimp and calamari biegnets and probably a glass of wine I shouldn't have had. Afterwards, we went out to see Moira and Anneliese. Played a little soccer and did some sidewalk chalk art. It was very warm and I was not coping very well (my apologies Moira)( and the glass of wine didn't help). Just as we were getting ready to leave, Julian came home so we got to see the whole family. If we weren't so full from brunch we would have gone out to eat with them, so maybe meet up with them tomorrow or Tuesday. As I said - I forgot the camera so I didnt get a pic of Anneliese to post for everyones enjoyment. They have a great old house out in the middle of a lot of trees.
Came back to Alison's apt. to pass out. We will wait for the mattress to be delivered in the a.m. then go to Ikea for some furniture, then we will try to get into the city, if thats what they say here, and see some sights. Hopefully, I will remember the camera!
I will take pics of the apt. just for you Steph - be back to post them soon. Love, Ma

a view from the window

Hey, ya'll I like to read your comments, too!!

Alison has arrived!! I am so pleased with her apartment and locale (especially). We only made it to the mattress store and Target today. It felt like we were supplying a dorm room for school but avoided the cheap plastic mixing bowls in favor of waiting til the next pay check for somethng more on an adult level. She is going to have such fun decorating HER apartment. It will be interesting to see what style evolves...
I called Moira today. We figured out they are only 8 miles away!! Cool. Julian can jog over and not even be out of breath! We will try to meet up with them tomorrow after lunch. I get to see Anneliese, Yea! Washington, DC is doing a Taste of the Town type of thing and we booked a cute little French Restaurant called Bastille for lunch. It is a prix fix $20.oo deal. Should be good! After lunch we should be able to do some sight-seeing.
Tonite is delivered pizza on her new plates. We are washing her new towels and sheets in her washer and drier IN her apt. Did I mention there is a swimming pool on the top of the building? Get to sleep on the floor tho, no bed delivery til Monday. The floor sounds so much better than another hotel room. Can you believe that was ME saying that??!!

Day Eight: A New Sport Is Born

Every night of this trip (with the exception of that awful night in Sa-LIE-na), Mom and I have cuddled up with NBC and watched the Olympics until we fell asleep.
So, in honor of the Olympics, and to commemorate our last day on the road, I think it's time for us to share the sport we've created to keep us occupied: State Line Photography.

It's more complicated than you would expect.

First, you have to figure out where the state line will be. You might think that the interstate signs would give some warning of when you're crossing a border. Not so. There's a lot of counting exits and peering at maps and generally exposing our ignorance of American geography.

Second, you have to be aware that most states have two state line markers. The first one is usually a nondescript state line marker, about 2' by 3' - like so:



But if you're not careful, you can miss the big welcome sign that's usually a hundred feet down the road from the actual state line:


These are the kinds of state line signs we've tried to capture, with varying degrees of success. Today was a particularly eventful day for crossing state lines. We started out in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, and drove east a couple hours toward Wheeling, West Virginia. I was driving, so Mom was in charge of the photography. Here's what she got:


"But wait," you say, "that's Ohio." Yes, yes it is. Mom is not yet adept at the sport of state line photography, so she missed the gigantic West Virginia sign.
I pulled off the highway and turned back to Ohio again so we could get a proper picture. Observe:


But I got cocky, which is always a mistake. Here's what happened 20 miles later as we crossed into Pennsylvania.


Is Pennsylvania the "State of Independence"? Of "Independent Living"? Of "Independency"? And who does Pennsylvania welcome? Yoda? Yetis? Yul Brynner? We'll never know!
At least West Virginia was good enough to give us a second (third) chance, after we headed south again:


And here's Maryland:


We missed Virginia's sign in all the Beltway confusion, but we'll make up for it somewhere along the way. I'm sure we'll be in and out of DC in the next few days enough to get a good shot.

But we invite you to look back at our posts and vote for your favorite state line picture. Mine's at Four Corners:


Here are your options:
1. Arizona
2. Four Corners
3. Colorado
4. Kansas
5. Missouri
6. Illinois
7. Indiana
8. Ohio
9. West Virginia
10. Pennsylvania
11. Maryland

Haven't we been here before?

Today was the last day on the road. We made it clear across without incident. That's a total of 8 days in the Aveo. Not bad timing. We didn't go too far off the main highway and cut the trip by 2 nites, but were still able to see some interesting sites.We kept the car clean of trash, but not of language. No, seriously, Alison and I were successful in not making this the road trip from hell. We deserve pats on our backs or preferrably, a massage.
Today was Ohio, W. Virginia, Pennsylvania, W. Virginia, Maryland and Virginia. Oh, and Ohio again. What? you say? We had a little communication problem coming out of Ohio and missed the photo op for the Ohio-W. Virginia crossing, had to make a turn around and get that pic! We crossed over the Eastern Continental Divide and traversed the West Virginia "mountains". Mountain MaMa, take me home!! One meltdown somewhere in Maryland. These people do NOT know how to MERGE! I just don't get it. All the way from Illinois we had to put up with it. No one moves over for nothing and then they ride your tail and want to pass on the right. What's up with that??!!
So, tomorrow Alison signs her lease and we will be looking for someplace to purchase a bed. I will be playing tourist so the blog will go on...
Bob - this is for you. I know you wanted something from Route 66, so here it is...

Now, who ARE these guys?? It's your doppleganger Route 66 band!! What do you think? Looks like it could be you and Steve after a few years. LOL LOL!! They actually didn't sound too bad. Listened to one song - Brandy.

Go, Speed Racer, Go

Hmmm.... I don't know how to feel about going back to the Bradley campus after so long. I can't quite wrap my head around the whole thing. It was a strange, mixed-up thing - where I've been, where I'm going, who I've been and will be. At least Lydia still looks as sour and cranky as ever.
Not much to report from Indiana, except that Mom needs to familiarize herself with some of the definitions in the Urban Dictionary.
Mom is totally right about the Amish cheese. It's awesome. I think I ate the Aveo's weight in bacon cheese spread before we even got to Dayton. Bacon cheese spread sounds gross, but when it's not filled with preservatives and processed beyond recognition, it is truly marvelous.
Or maybe I was just hungry.
And what's going on with these afternoon storms. Every time I take the wheel, the sky darkens and the semis start kicking up tsunamis of rainwater. It's like I'm a rain god.
But onward! Across the mountains, to the capital.

Ah, Amish Cheese

Alison and I have arrived in Columbus, OH this evening. We are sitting in our room and Alison is eating what is left of her Amish cheese. She got bacon cheddar spread and I bought a fabulous blueberry cheddar. Let me tell how we arrived here...




First stop - Bradley U. Alison bought a new Bradley t-shirt as her old one is now 8 years old. Can you believe that?? We took her pic with old Lydia standing proud in the middle of campus. Alison can add a link here for anyone interested in Bradley or Peoria.



Next stop, old Jumer's for some cinnamon rolls and a pic of the bear for dad. Well, Jumers sold out to Raddison and took the bear with him!! All thats left is a gargoyle over the door. Raddison was unable to remove the lingering smell of cigarrette smoke tho.
So, Chris - I do have one complaint.. the traffic in Peoria stinks!! no one knows how to drive especially the meaning of merge.


We are headed down the highway to the state border with Indiana and stop at a rest stop. The sheriff who had been following me for a ways pulled in ahead of us. I got out of the car, doing some stretches and he made a comment about needing to do that after being in the car so long. We chatted, I asked if he saw the CA plate and he responded " that's my job" - I think he wanted to say DUH!! He was a nice guy and I asked if I could take his pic for the blog and he said "as long as there are no identifying features included." Please see pic and Alison may or may not tell the rest of the story.....

Down the road and past the Indianapolis Speedway , over the border into Ohio.
Not much happening here so we decide to go off road to find Wilber Wright's birthplace. Down thru neverending cornfields and along country dirt roads with no real indication of where it is, we give up and turn back to the highway. Next sign is for AMISH CHEESE. That we are doing!!
The shop smells so fantastic. Not only is there cheese, there is PIE. Pecan this time. I only had samples of the blueberry cheddar but I am sure there will be none left to bring home, alas.


If you are getting tired of rain pics from the car, well, so are we. The thunderstorms seem to always come in when Alison is driving in the afternoon. I figure it is good driving experience for her since she hasn't driven much in the last 3-7 years.
Tomorrow we are going to make an attempt to get as close to DC as we can. One more nite on the road I think. Alison made arrangements while we were driving to have her utilities turned on on Sat. and sign the lease early too. We may be camping out on her floor til we can get her some furniture.
Watching Olympics - when is Diving? I want to see diving.

a day in Peoria

Alison went for a run this a.m. in Springfield, I tried to sleep in but no go. We showered and headed into Peoria. Our host for the morning , Sara , created tasty crepes for us. After having my fill I vegged out on the couch with a magazine while the girls caught up. After, farewells we went on the neverending quest for a room. Sorry, Steven, but the price keeps going up. We have developed a sense of entitlement since Salina... we are bound and determined not to go thru that again.
Success with the room. We met up with another of Alison's friends - Chris - for dinner. He is a very pleasant and entertaining young man. Works for the Peoria Journal Star on the swing shift, so we had to cut our visit short so he could get back to work. Came back to the room to plot out tomorrow. The goal is to make it to Columbus, OH. It is only 6 hours. NO Problemo for us road warriors or should I say road amazons? We will decide tomorrow nite if we feel like pushing on to DC or spend another nite somewhere before that.
Here's hoping for interesting pictures tomorrow.

Day Six: The Land of Lincoln

Hooray (in chronological order) for:

* the jogging track around the lake behind our hotel in Springfield
* that yeasty Peoria summertime smell
* crepes
* Sara
* Chris
* the brand-new hotel on War Memorial
* prairie fire that wanders about

I am so lost...

We were unable to write in the blog yesterday because we didnt have a promised wi-fi connection and so over the course of days and miles I have lost track of what we have said and done. Like the miles, my thoughts are behind me. I really need to write down things when i think of them. I say to myself - oh, I will remember this and then of course I dont. Very frustrating.
I feel like the little Aveo is taking its toll on me. I woke up this morning with the muscles in my back cramping up on me on my first yawn of the day. I need Dr. Paul!! (my chiropractor). Alison and I have promised ourselves massages at the end of this trip.


This is a view of one of the many rooms filled with JUNK - Windom would be in seventh heaven. There are thousands and thousands of rocks, bottles, tools, arrowheads, animal skins, carcasses , you name it, its in here at the amazing Wonder Tower. From the top one can see 6 unnamed states, apparantly you get to figure that one out on your own.


Here i have tried to capture how very steep these steps are. The layers of paint from 1930 have only added to the incline. We got next to the last "floor" and poked our heads up to see out of the top. There was no way we were going out on that last landing - it was only surrounded by chicken wire!


Beware when an old man in an old house full of old stuff says "It's around back and it's a little old fashioned.."

So after surviving the tower of power we made it across state without too much happening. Then we found this fabulous Carousel in the town of Burlington. During the war the structure enclosing the carousel was used as grain storage, grain was dumped down over all the carousel animals and all the fabulous horses, giraffes, lions, camels and doggies were left to rot or be eaten by mice. Thankfully the town needed a Centenial project and decided to restore the carousel. I hope these pictures do it justice. By the way it is one of the fastest carousel ever at top speed of 10 miles an hour!! It also has a working Wurlitzer military organ . Hope the video plays here.















Kansas is hurting for natural attractions so they had to make their own...



We wanted to see the oddities but didnt want to pay 7.00 each


So after talking to the nice man at the Missouri Visitors Center we decided to change our route and avoid St. Louis. We went further north and plowed our way all the way to Springfield, IL but not before stopping in Marciliene (sp?) where you know who grew up and the streets of his hometown inspired Main Street Disneyland.


Look closely and you can see the mouse ears

OK it is bedtime in Springfield - 2 hours ahead of you all. Tomorrow we visit with Alison's undergrad buddies from Bradley U. in Peoria. Her friend Sara has generously offered to make us breakfast. Do you know how good a home cooked meal sounds after so many restaurants on the road?

Three States, Three Times the Fun

Today was much better than yesterday. Three states in one day AND we got to leave Salina.
First up was an attempt at breakfast in Abeliene, home of Dwight D. Eisenhower. I like Ike. I wasn't so keen on Abeliene. So, on to Topeka to see one of the original schools from the Brown v. Board of Education case, which is now a national historic site. It's one of those things that reminds me why I wanted to be a lawyer, and why it was especially awesome to go to Columbia.






Anywho.
From Topeka to Kansas City, for a stop at the Missouri Visitor's Center and a change of course from the I-70 up to the 36.



A quick stop in Marcheline (Mom will tell you about this), then Hannibal, childhood home of Mark Twain.
Across the river, then into...


Illinois!
Springfield, Springfield, it's a hell of a town!
Ahh.... Illinois. It's good to be back in the Land of Lincoln.

Bleeding Kansas

It is, I know, vastly unfair to write off an entire state just because you have one bad night there. But come on, Kansas.
No, let me be clearer - what gives with the western half of Kansas?
The day started off promising enough. See:


Mom looks so happy (if a little suspicious), sitting in that coffee shop in Pueblo, CO. Our radio was tuned to Peak FM, "a mountain of favorite songs." And things just got better from there. Behold, the Wonder Tower From Whence Six States May Be Seen:



As the proprietor was quick to point out, it's not just a tower. It's also a 22-room museum full of "Guess Whats," thousands of arrowheads, creepy dioramas, and weird taxidermied objects. It's best not to "guess what" these things are (or were). This, America, is where a $1 admission fee gets you.


Eastward, then, to the Kansas border. Just on the Colorado side is the Kit Carson County Carousel in Burlington, CO. Whee!


But then. Oh, but then came Kansas. Again, things looked promising to begin with: a friendly visitor's center, a friendly brochure pointing out sights along I-70, the giant Van Gogh reproduction.


After that, though, nothing.... Lovely views of the majestic plains for four long, tedious hours. We made it to Salina (Sa-LIE-na, they say), Kansas, around 7 pm, tired and ready to blog. But no internet. Spotty phone service. No TV (it's the Olympics! men's gymnastics! swimming!). Unidentifiable stains on the walls and linens, mystery towels hanging in the bathroom...

This morning I tried to make coffee. Here's a dramatic re-enactment of what happened:

ME: [examining the coffee pot skeptically, seeing nothing but beads of what I hope is old coffee] Ummmm....Mom? What is this? Is it safe?
MOM: Yeah, it should be fine, as long as they weren't making crystal meth in there.
ME: In a coffee pot?

Kansas!

Morning Coffee

We're sitting outside the Solar Roast Coffee cafe in the historic district of Pueblo. I'm having soy latte and a white chocolate lavender scone. Mom's having a coffee and some sort of zucchini/cranberry/yummy bread. The guys restoring the storefront next door are having a loud, angry fight. But the weather is perfect, the coffee is excellent, and we're ready for all that I-70 and Kansas have to offer.

All in a day

Sunday i went from feeling very comfortable amongst my green trees, lovely rivers and clear skies THen BAM! All hell broke loose! Never have I experienced anything like the rain,thunder and lightning! It was literally right on top of us. The first sign was a huge lightning bolt that broke the skies wide open and the rain came pouring out. Lightning was striking all around us and Alison only had to count to 4 at the most before KABLAMM another one hit. Visability was near zero so we pulled over to the side of the road to wait it out. I kept thanking the Aveo for its rubber tires.
We had a lot of fun looking for our elk jerky, made a couple of unsuccessful stop-all out, sorry.Then we found a compound of sorts that had what we thought was elk in pens, turned out they were reindeer-they promised they didnt make jerky out of them. Alison thought the place looked a little sketchy, the type of place where they film the beginning of a slasher movie. I didnt get that vibe at all and the girl behind the counter was as sweet as pie. Speaking of pie - had excellent blueberry pie in Cortez the night before.
We are on another big push across Kansas today. Had to call Alison's friends in Peoria to let them know we were making better time than we thought.
Onward!!

Day Three: Thunderbolts and Lightning, Very, Very Frightening

"Water!"
That's what the sign at the Continental Divide points out is the salient feature of the part of Colorado we drove through today. I would also add that elk are pretty common, too.
Just a short post, since our internet connection is pretty sketchy. But here are the highlights of Day Three:


[Breakfast in Durango, CO]


[Chimney Rock, CO, which I believe is a landmark on the classic video game Oregon Trail]


[The Great Divide, Wolf Creek Pass - altitude 10,000 feet]


[Outside Pagosa Springs on US 160 - we saw the pun and had to stop - but no elk jerky!]

[US 160 by Del Norte - success, and elk jerky, at last!]


[Interstate 25, outside Pueblo, CO - we got caught in a nasty thunderstorm on the highway, so bad that dozens of cars - including the Aveo - pulled over on the side of the road with their hazard lights blinking for 20 minutes]

Next up: Kansas!

Running on the Road - Cortez, CO

This one's for my training buddies.
The alarm went off at 5:45 this morning, and I pulled my shoes on in the dark, cursing the hour I lost crossing into a new time zone. Out the door, past the pool and the vaguely Native American murals on our motel's walls, onto the sidewalk along US 160. There was no one on the streets, but the neon signs on Main Street were buzzing. It took awhile to get into an even stride - the air is a little thinner up here at 6,100 feet.
Main Street is welcoming and unpretentious, kind of like downtown Fullerton was 15 years ago. There are motels, banks, gas stations, antique stores, a park, the Silver Bullet Cafe (an old Airstream that looks like, um, a silver bullet), a natural foods store, and the obligatory sex shop.
On the first half of the run, the mountains were to my right, but when I turned back, there was another range right in front of me. The mountains were glowing red in the sunrise. Here's a picture from about an hour later (outside our motel):


I didn't get as far as I had planned. I only made it 3 miles (my traning plan called for 6). But I was out there, moving, breathing (wheezing?), trekking along. I'm ok with taking it easy the next week. I'll pick up the long runs somewhere along the line.

Next stop on the Aveo Express (this is train country, people!): Pueblo, CO.

Four Corners. One Aveo.

[Canyon de Chelly]

mother nature is awesome! [Canyon de Chelly]

these clouds looked liked bunny rabbits, by the time we got the camera out the wind had blown them into what looks more like puppy dogs [Highway 191]

after a long day on the road we cant tell the difference, can you? [Stewart's Petrified Wood, west of the Petrified Forest, AZ]

Alison thinks she likes feeding the ostriches but isnt quite sure.. [Stewart's Petrified Wood]



All these years and I never knew Colorado means colorful in Spanish. The rock formations ARE very colorful when the afternoon sun spills over them. The pink tinged clouds form a beautiful bonnet atop their lofty heads - didnt know i was a poet did you!!! [US 160, east of Four Corners]


OK i have a gripe with the people who promote this place! I had an image in my head from all the literature about our national monuments that i have read and let me tell you it aint nothing like the pictures! If you look closely at the background and around the edges you see the start of what is really going on here. The perimeter of the "monument" is filled with shacks, yes shacks selling indian jewelry, sno -cones and t-shirts. Now, dont get me wrong, I dont have anything against the fact that the selling is going on - it's the misrepresentation that I have an issue with. The place was full of portable outhouses! No plumbing, i get it.... [Four Corners]


Canyon de Chelly . What a gorgeous place!!! Like an oasis in the desert.


I dont think i even have anything to say about this pic. this is where we stopped so Alison could feed the ostriches. Oh, here is what we believe to be a "liger" for all you Napolean Dynamite fans:




Is this not a great pic of a real live ostrich!! They have mean, beady looking eyes and will bite your hand even tho they dont have teeth. They have big feet that will stomp you if you get near them. I learned all this from the gal in the geode and rock shop on the premises



Holbrook, AZ The site for the scenery inspiration in the movie CARS also one of the car characters Tomato something or other was drawn from a pic of an old rotted out truck parked somewhere out here